Remembering Jane’s Addiction

Hello again, VibeTribe. Summer is just around the corner and, more importantly, our annual return to Seaside Park and the best weekend of all is also just a stones throw away. Well, we’re back to get your minds wet with anticipation for 2012.

Where were you the first time you heard the music of Jane’s Addiction? Was there a particular song that turned you on to the band? What do you remember of the experience? And what about the first time you heard the band perform? What about the last?

Personally, I was a classic rocker throughout high school but, shortly after graduation in ’88, a friend happened to have the incredibly shocking, Nothing’s Shocking. One last summer bash at said friend’s family cottage before college, a spin of this mind altering, genre defining recording and none of us would ever be the same. “Summertime Rolls” indeed!

The years that followed saw the band reach commercial success with “Been Caught Stealing” and then succinctly break up, whether several line-up changes, reunions, and the evolution of the modern festival with Lollapalooza. 2011 saw the band reform and release The Great Escape Artist to great acclaim. Of course, summer brought the band to our corner of land for a Saturday evening festival performance like none other and, well, Jane’s Addiction certainly didn’t disappoint.

I found myself floating through a sea of heads towards the stage on the opening notes of “Whores.” And how great was it to get a whole set full of classic Jane’s songs? When bassist Chris Chaney began the rolling notes of “Ted, Just Admit It,” while Perry Farrell danced around with a bottle of wine in hand and introduced drummer, Stephen Perkins, as having a brother who was a Deadhead, I was taken back to the high school party at a beach house.

I situated myself about 9 rows deep, looking right up at the band and was simply out of my mind. The raging “Ocean Size” was a crowd favorite with VibeTribe singing along in unison, and certainly fitting on the shore of the Long Island Sound. “Three Days” was a slow, mind-altering state of smoke filled, psychedelic bliss and, for this fan anyway, the pièce de résistance was the band moving through their cover of The Who’s “Sparks” into their own classic “Mountain Song” — the song that ignited my soul to the wonder of new music more than twenty years ago. While it was to be expected, the set closing acoustic performance of “Jane Says” or as Farrell described it, “ …our sad, sad story,” was the closer to a Saturday night at The Vibes that the Tribe had indeed been waiting for.

And so what about you? What do you remember about Jane’s Addiction from GOTV 2011? What was your favorite song of their set? Was it as much of a flashback for you as it was for me? Maybe it was your first Jane’s Addiction performance. Or maybe you’d never heard the band live, or even better, never heard of the band at all? Did their performance meet your expectations? Share your thoughts with the rest of the Vibe Tribe below.

2011 is behind us and we’re looking ahead to summer 2012 and our return to Seaside Park. Can’t wait to see you all again.